Acupuncture for Neck Pain
- May 29
- 7 min read
We have all experienced neck pain at some point in our lives.
For some of us, our neck hurts more than it doesn’t hurt. For others, we sail merrily along for months without a care in world until one day we wake up and can’t turn our head to the left.
If you are a person who suffers from chronic neck tension and pain, or are experiencing it for the first time today, you know that it, well, sucks. A lot. A tight or painful neck affects the whole body, causing headaches, pain the arms, hands, or upper back. It makes you feel tired, have trouble focusing, sleeping, or getting your work done.
A simple stiff neck can be a big problem, and sometimes it feels really hard to get lasting relief.
But we have some good news – acupuncture can help.
We treat neck pain and tension every single day in our clinic with great outcomes, in cases ranging from waking up with a stiff neck to chronic tension, stenosis, disc degeneration or soft tissue trauma.
Acupuncture for Neck Pain
So…we say we can make your neck feel better. How, exactly?
Let’s get into it.
As you may know, acupuncture is the insertion of hair-thin filiform needles into specific points on the body, known as acupuncture points, to reduce pain, regulate body function, and promote well-being.
Which acupuncture points we use and in what combination is determined by you - in this case, by your neck pain and tension. Each acupuncture treatment is tailored specifically to its recipient. This is one of the great strengths of acupuncture and of Chinese Medicine in general: it is not one size fits all, because – let’s be real, what size fits everyone? We are all unique as people, and our suffering - be it neck pain, anxiety or a sinus infection - has a different origin, history and presentation. In Chinese medicine speak we call this a pattern – a constellation of signs and symptoms that leads us to the best possible treatment.
When you come in for acupuncture, we meet you where you are, identify the pattern(s) associated with your symptoms, and treat the person you are today.
Stress and the Neck
That being said, there are certain patterns of neck pain that we see again and again (and again) in the clinic.
For better or for worse, most modern Americans spend more than 50% of their waking hours on a screen. Additionally, many of us are stressed and don’t get enough sleep, rejuvenating physical activity, and healing touch. All these factors contribute to tension accumulating around the shoulders and neck.
The most common neck pain patterns we see at the clinic fall under the broad umbrella of chronic neck tension due the above factors. This type of neck pain often has acute flare ups, and periods of improvement. Typically it feels better with movement, reduction in stress, massage and vacations. It often is linked with tension headaches which we will into in more detail in another article.
One of the reasons acupuncture is so effective for treating issues like neck pain is that we are treating your neck, yes, but we are also treating you – all of you. In case you haven’t noticed, your neck is very much attached to the rest of you! We are able to relax the muscles around your neck and shoulders as well as release tension throughout your whole body and calm your nervous system so you feel less stressed and more embodied.
Getting to the Point
In cases of chronic neck tension, there are a few acupuncture points that will often make an appearance in your treatment.
GB 20 (Feng Chi, Wind Pool) and GB 21 (Jian Jing, Shoulder Well) are very useful points for treating neck tension and pain.
Most acupuncture points fall on acupuncture channels, also sometimes known as meridians that create a comprehensive map of the body. We select points on channels that relate to the issue we are working on into order to elicit change. There are many acupuncture channels that pass through or relate to the neck that may be used during a treatment. Three common ones are the Gallbladder (GB) channel, Bladder (BL) channel and Large Intestine (LI) channel. All acupuncture points have both a number, indicating their location on the channel, and a name, descriptive of either its location, function, or the problem it treats.
GB 20 is located under the occiput and GB 21 is located at the top of the shoulder, halfway
from the base of the neck and the shoulder’s tip. These points are excellent for moving tension out of the neck, shoulder and upper back, and can often provide immediate relief.
A number of points on the hand may be used, depending on the location of the pain or tension. Some of these are LI4 (He Gu, Junction Valley) located near the thumb, SI3 (Hou Xi, Back Gully Stream) located on the outsideedge of the hand, and TB3 (Zhong Zhu, Central Island) located on the back of the hand. All of these points are excellent for treating neck and head pain and back pain.
Points on the legs and feet will also be selected. Many of the acupuncture channels that pass through the neck connect to the lower extremity. We almost always use points at the far end of an affected acupuncture channel to ‘drain’ pain from its opposite end.
Knotty Problems versus Bony Ones
Chronic neck tension related to stress or overwork is the most common form of neck pain we see in the clinic – but it definitely isn’t the only kind we see!
Neck pain due to whiplash or other soft tissue injury, and neck pain due to spinal issues - bony or disc changes, for example, are also common.
Many of the same points may be utilised, but you might see other acupuncture points thrown in the mix as well.
When treating problems with the spine itself, we might use points on the Kidney and Bladder channels more frequently, such as Kid 3 (Tai Xi, Great Canyon) BL 60 (Kun Lun, Kunlun Mountain) which are located on the inside and outside of the ankle joint. Another set of three points known as “Upright Tendon” on the back of the Achilles tendon is a wonderful treatment for cervical pain and rigidity.
No matter what kind of neck pain you are coming into the clinic with, your acupuncturist will discuss it with you and determine what treatment is best for you today.
The Healing Journey
Great, we can treat you neck! Your next question might be: how long is this going to take? And after that… how much is it going to cost me?
Acupuncture often helps people feel better right away. That being said, it takes some time to achieve healing.
After one treatment you might feel relaxed, calm and even pain free, but it is likely your pain will return. Most of the time people need 4-8 acupuncture treatments at a frequency of 1-3 times per week to make sustainable change.
In more chronic or severe conditions it may take several treatments before you experience relief.
As for cost, it can vary widely depending on where you seek treatment. BAC is a community acupuncture clinic, meaning we offer acupuncture in a comfortable group setting on a sliding scale in order to make the service accessible to as many people as possible. We recommend taking a look the guide to our sliding scale before coming in.
If you are ready to get started with acupuncture treatment at BAC, click here to schedule
your first appointment.
At Home Tips & Tricks
If you don’t have access to acupuncture where you live, here are few tips for at-home neck pain relief.
Number One: Heat is your best friend!
What? Not ice?!
Yep, that’s right. Unless your neck is red and swollen because you just got hit with a baseball (or something) heat, not ice, is your best course of action.
Ice may make the pain go down, that’s true. That’s because ice causes vasoconstriction and numbing of the tissues. This is a temporary solution, and will actually cause you more problems later. Cold causes contraction - think about how you shiver when you are out in the cold without a coat - and contraction is, guess what? Tension! Tension is the problem here, so making more of it is not going to help long term.
Heat, on the other hand, promotes blood circulation, which promotes healing and allows your muscles to soften. Heat will often feel good on a sore or tight neck if you give it a chance. You can use a heating pad, stick on sock filled with rice or flax in the microwave, or take a hot bath with epsom salts.
Number Two: Mobilize!
Stretching and strengthening on a regular basis can go a long way towards reducing neck pain. Here’s a link to a free online yoga video that targets the neck and upper back. Yoga is a wonderful tool for treating neck pain because, like acupuncture, it works with whole body to relief tension and reduce pain and stress.
Another amazing way to reduce stress and tension is to take 5 minute movement breaks throughout your day every 30-60 minutes. This does not have to be fancy! March is place, walk around block or put on a song and dance. Not only will this loosen up your neck, it has been shown to combat fatigue and regulate blood sugar and blood pressure. Check out this study from Columbia University to learn more.
We hope this article was helpful!
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See you recliner-side soon!
